The Old Farmer's Almanac Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook

Whether you’ve never touched a trowel in your life or have been harvesting at home for decades, you’re sure to grow your best vegetable garden ever with this easy-to-use guide from The Old Farmer’s Almanac—America’s trusted gardening resource since 1792!
All of the information that you need for vegetable success is right here at your garden-gloved fingertips . . .

• Read step-by-step advice on growing 32 delectable vegetables, from asparagus to zucchini (which you’ll find under “Squash”!).
• Find out the dirt on soil: Why testing is so important—and how to do it—as well as how to transform “blah” dirt to tiptop soil into which your plants will happily sink their roots.
• Discover easy techniques for growing vegetables in-ground, plus alternatives to traditional raised beds—including straw bales!
• Grow the plants that you like again and again—and get them off to a healthy start each time—by following the simple seed-saving and -starting directions provided.
• Identify gardeners’ friends and foes: which plants help (or hinder) vegetables.
• Delight in enlightening (and humorous!) anecdotes from fellow gardeners.
• Write it down! Use the space provided for noting observations and experiences.
• Dig deeper with essential reference tables and charts, including frost dates for U.S. and Canadian regions
• What’s an Old Farmer’s Almanac guide without a little folklore and fun? You’ll find quotes and wit and wisdom sprinkled throughout the book. (Did you know that early Roman farmers referred to broccoli as “the five green fingers of Jupiter”?)
• Enjoy more than 150 full-color photos that perk up the pages and inspire you to get gardening.
• plus much more!

Brought to you by The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been providing guidance on growing a bountiful garden for more than two centuries, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook is the first book in a best-selling gardening series that includes the beautiful Flower Gardener’s Handbook and the newest Container Gardener’s Handbook. Already a gardening favorite now in its sixth printing, the Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook is loaded with advice and inspiration to help vegetables—and growers—thrive!

List of contents

Table of Contents

Introduction
Ground Rules: Where to Grow
Success Starts With Soil
Alternatives to Growing in the Ground
Containers to Fit Your Needs
Tools You'll Use, w/ Care Tips
How to Start Seeds
30+ Vegetables, from A to Z
Why Companion Plants Are Your Friends
Gardening by the Moon
When to Water
Deterrents and Remedies for Plant Pests and Diseases
Facts About Fertilizer
Plan Now for Next Year (Rotation)

Essential Reference
Frost Dates w/ Critical Temps table
Hardiness map
pH Chart
Unwelcome Weeds
Weights & Measures
Herb chart
(additional charts/tables will also appear in chapters)

Index

About the author

Founded in 1792, The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been providing guidance on growing a bountiful garden, timekeeping, running a smart and happy home, and enjoying the many wonders of Earth and sky for more than two centuries! America’s best-selling and longest continuously published periodical, it features articles, information resources, and tips that are always “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor.” The Almanac also produces books on gardening and cooking, an annual Garden Guide, the Garden Planner (an interactive online resource for planning and recording garden activities), a collection of calendars (including the best-selling Gardening calendar), a biannual Almanac for Kids, and EXTRA! (a monthly e-magazine). The Old Farmer’s Almanac also reaches millions through its powerful presence on Almanac.com and the Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest social media platforms.

Summary

A Gift for the Gardening Lover

• New and experienced gardeners find this book (companion to the Flower Gardener’s Handbook and Container Gardener’s Handbook) to be so useful that it is now in its sixth printing!
• Created for novices, aspiring growers, green thumbs, and old hands alike, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook is loaded with advice and inspiration to guarantee success for every vegetable garden—and every gardener!
• Contains step-by-step advice for successfully growing 32 vegetables; scores of timesaving tips and proven veggie-growing techniques; more than 150 stunning, full-color photos; insightful and entertaining anecdotes from experienced gardeners; recommended varieties; essential reference tables and charts; dedicated pages for recording ongoing observations; and much more!
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac, founded in 1792, has a strong presence in the gardening information field that includes such products as the annual Garden Guide (available in both print and digital formats), the Garden Planner (an interactive online resource for planning and recording garden activities), the Gardening calendar (a perennial favorite of gardeners and nature lovers for more than 45 years that has been the #1 best-seller in garden calendars on Amazon), and the Gardening Club (a membership opportunity that offers people a selection of Old Farmer’s Almanac gardening and related products every year). 
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac reaches millions through its powerful presence on Almanac.com and the Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest social media platforms. In addition, a daily e-newsletter promotes the Almanac family of products to more than 600,000 recipients, and a biweekly gardening e-newsletter reaches 157,575 gardeners.
• 54% of young adults (ages 18 to 34) would rather go to a garden center than a nightclub.
• According to latest trends for popular gardening projects, “Creating vegetable gardens” is #1.
• Growing vegetables offers folks—even those who have only a small space—the opportunity to grow their own food, get outdoors and exercise in a wholesome environment, feel the peace of working with nature, and enjoy the satisfaction of watching plants develop and thrive through one’s own efforts. Growing one’s own food also offers a sense of security in these days of supply shortages and high prices, and a bountiful harvest provides a perfect opportunity for sharing with family, friends, and the community. Vegetable gardening also provides people more choices in variety and flavor than most grocery stores can offer and allows them to have more control over the use of pesticides on their food. Fresher, healthier, and satisfying—it’s no wonder that vegetable gardening is such a favorite pastime!

Product details

• Authors: Old Farmer’s Almanac, Old Farmer's Almanac, Old Farmer's Almanac Old Farmer's Almanac
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.11.2019
• EAN: 9781571988454
• ISBN: 978-1-57198-845-4
• No. of pages: 208
• Dimensions: 171 mm x 222 mm x 19 mm
• Weight: 540 g
• Series: Old Farmer's Almanac (Paperbac; Gardener's Handbooks
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Nature, technology > Nature: general, reference works; Gardening / Horticulture, GARDENING / Reference, GARDENING: Vegetables, REFERENCE: Consumer Guides, GARDENING: Reference, GARDENING: Techniques, GARDENING: Container